Climate researchers warn in a new study published Wednesday in the journal Nature that rising sea levels could get much worse much faster than predicted. The melting of a massive Antarctic sheet of ice, coupled with ice melting in other regions, could cause sea levels to rise by as much as five or six feet by 2100. Previously, scientists had forecast that this was hundreds if not thousands of years away, and had projected the "worst-case scenario" to be half the rise in sea level now predicted.
Beyond 2100, scientists say things look even grimmer. Sea levels could begin rising by more than a foot per decade, and eventually drown out the world's coastlines, including major cities such as New York, Miami, New Orleans, London, Venice, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Sydney.
"We are not saying this is definitely going to happen," said David Pollard, a co-author of the new research. "But I think we are pointing out that there's a danger, and it should receive a lot more attention."
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